St Valentine's Day
by Doc Scratch
Summary: Secret Admirers, confusing crushes, mushy cards, rivalry, and a whole lot of candy. Oh boy. This could get messy. MelloxNear Onesided MelloxMatt
1. Dropping the Bomb

A/N: Another MelloxNear story… and it's also about a holiday… This is becoming a pattern…

Disclaimer: I don't own Deathnote.

Summary: Secret Admirers, confusing crushes, mushy cards, rivalry, and a whole lot of candy. Oh boy. This could get messy. MelloxNear One-sided MelloxMatt

Title: St. Valentine's Day

Chapter 1: Dropping the Bomb

It was with much trepidation that Matt got out of bed that morning. The date was February 14 or, as Matt liked to think of it, Hell on Earth Day.

The rest of the world knew it as Valentine's Day. The time when one expressed one's affections towards their preferred target for mating, or attempted target.

To put it bluntly, love stinks. And the air smells really bad right now.

The reason for this was, of course, Matt's capricious blonde-haired best friend. Or more accurately, his feelings for his capricious blonde-haired best friend, which were decidedly more than friendship. Yeah. The place _reeked_.

As though somehow cued by Matt's gloom, Mello sprang out of bed with an energy that was only possessed by morning people and the terminally insane. If there's a difference.

"Crap… now all the girls are going to expect to get lots of cards and candy and the ones that don't will get all whiney and sobby and the ones who do won't share." Clearly this wasn't exactly Mello's favorite holiday either. Nonetheless, Matt felt it his duty to attempt to cheer the blonde up.

"Come on Mello, it's not so bad. We get valentines and candy every year too, so you'll probably get more chocolate." Matt pointed out. Mello looked considerably happier at this. "And really… are you telling me there's no one you'd like to give a valentine to? Some of the girls are pretty cute." Mello made an indignant noise.

"Are you kidding? Girls are airheads today. You shouldn't encourage them." He scoffed, and then went about his morning preparations. Matt shrugged and began to get dressed for the day.

One floor down, in a mostly-empty playroom, a small pale boy had abandoned his usual Lego-building puzzle-solving robot-crashing activities. Instead he was sitting, one leg up with his knee against his chest and the other splayed on the ground, and cutting carefully at red construction paper with a pair of safety scissors. Art supplies were arranged neatly around him. His expression was impassive, but the delicate way he held the paper and the measured cuts he took belied his concern for his creation.

"It has to be just right…" Near murmured softly to himself.

"Mello, keep eating like that than even _you_ won't be able to avoid a stomach ache." Matt warned. The blonde looked up from his plunder, chocolate smeared across his face.

"Don't be ridiculous Matt. I've never been sick from _chocolate_." Mello pronounced the word chocolate the way many faithful people would state the name of their religious deity. Matt held up his hands in playful surrender, he couldn't help an affectionate grin crawling across his face.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Mello raised an eyebrow. Matt considered for a moment, taking in the chocolate stains around Mello's mouth, the sugary dot on his cheek, the streak across his nose.

"Nope. Looks clear." Matt hastily took out his gameboy and slid down his goggles to mask his increasing amusement. Mello shrugged and resumed his demolishment of all things chocolate within his reach.

Once he was sure Mello was thoroughly distracted, Matt slipped a hand into his jacket pocket.

'Should I…?' He thought. That was preposterous, he supposed. He definitely should, but… he could never seem to find the courage. There were of course all the normal worries: rejection, ruining the friendship, getting the crap beat out of him by an offended Mello… alright maybe that last one was exclusive only to this situation.

'Ok, Matt. Deep breath now… just do it. Really fast. Like ripping off a band-aid!' Matt hesitated, his fingers clenching and unclenching around the object in his pocket. 'Like ripping off a band-aid. Fast. Now! Just do it!'

"Hey Mello…" Matt started, pulling the thing out of his pocket. Too late to stop now.

"Yeah?" Mello glanced up again, and stopped, his eyes immediately fell to what was in Matt's hand. A bag of candy hearts. They had a card attached. With his name on it. Mello's brain stuttered and shut down.

"I uh… Here…" Matt thrust the gift at Mello, then scrabbled to his feet and out the door. Mello was still staring at where Matt had been.

Blue eyes moved slowly down to the bag of candy that had landed on his knee. A hand tentatively reached out, taking the card and turning it over to read.

'I love you.

-Matt'

Short, simple, to the point. So very Matt.

Ok. Sure. Great. Dandy.

"_Dandy!?_ Oh I did **not** just think the word _dandy_!" Mello's mind came back to life with a jolt. He gazed down at the card with mixed feelings. Matt loved him. Matt _loved_ him. _Matt_ loved him. Matt loved him!?

It just wasn't processing.

"But… he's my best friend." Mello said aloud. Dammit, this was just so completely baffling. Mello tried to organize his thoughts, tried to analyze his own emotions, which was usually simple despite how explosive they were. After much work, he managed to grasp hold of the idea.

Ok… so Matt loved him. Mello still didn't know how he felt about that.

'Do… do I love Matt?' He thought with perplexity. Mello didn't think he'd mind too much if he did. 'Yes…' He realized soon enough. 'But not like… like _that_. Matt is my best friend…' Mello stared down at the candy, the card, the… valentine.

'I love you.

-Matt.'

Mello didn't think Matt meant best friend love. In fact he was _sure_ Matt didn't mean best friend love.

"Well… shit."

TBC…

A/N: Yes, it is going to have multiple chapters. Not sure exactly how many yet… -sighs- Anyway though… please review! Reviews keep me writing!


	2. Disentanglement

A/N: Yeah… so a lot of focus on Matt and Mello these first few chapters. The MelloxNear love is coming though. Thank you so much to em, and Miss Tsuki K. Taken for reviewing the first chapter! You guys are so nice!

Disclaimer: Don't own Deathnote.

Chapter 2: Disentanglement

Matt was absolutely certain that he had just committed the most singularly idiotic act of his young life. He was equally certain that he didn't regret it. Yet.

He felt bold. He felt elated. He felt as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Of course that was probably just because Mello hadn't found him so far. This was likely due to the fact that Mello would expect Matt to hide inside, where it was warm and full of rooms and good hiding places. But Matt was not inside. He was pressed against the outside of the building, in the alcove to the left of the front doors.

True, it was freezing and there was snow everywhere and Matt really didn't know how long he'd be able to stay out here before he risked hypothermia… He just wasn't ready to see Mello again at the moment.

So… now what?

Matt didn't like that question. He did not like that question at all. He slid down the wall morosely, sitting right on the cold ground, not even caring that the snow was dampening his pants. Matt pulled his goggles down over his eyes.

Dammit, he was _not_ going to cry. Not until he knew what Mello felt about this at least.

He was… _not_… going to cry.

Mello didn't actually like candy hearts that much. He was all about the chocolate. But that wasn't the reason he determined not to eat them. The reason was, that if he ate them, it would be… wrong. Because he knew he couldn't return Matt's love, at least not the way the redhead wanted, and to accept the gift would be sending the wrong message.

Now if only he could _find_ Matt and try to explain… and maybe get Matt to explain some things as well. It was so frustrating, this searching for Matt thing. Mello couldn't remember the last time he'd actually had to look for Matt. The gamer had always been right next to him, or if he wasn't he made sure Mello knew where he would be…

Alright, how the hell had he not noticed this earlier!? Mello thought back over all the years he and Matt had been best friends, inseparable, and suddenly he could pick out all the little signs, the little hints…

Man, he had never felt so oblivious before. This was getting ridiculous.

What was worse though was how Mello couldn't figure out _why_ he didn't feel the same way for Matt. The other boy was intelligent, faithful, fun, and undeniably good-looking. They were close enough to know everything about one another. And although Mello hadn't ever considered himself gay, he knew himself well enough to know that he wasn't particularly on the straight and narrow either.

So, when approached logically, there wasn't any real reason for the lack of attraction… And it would make it that much harder to explain why not to Matt if Mello couldn't even think of why not.

Unless… was there someone else? Did Mello maybe love someone else, and that was why he didn't want Matt?

Mello systematically ran through the list of females at the orphanage. Too young, too bubbly, too airheaded, too old… No one came to mind. Then, just as he was giving that theory up as hopeless, another face popped into his head.

"Oh… Oh! …_Oh shit!"_ Mello immediately stopped his search to clap his hands to the sides of his head. "Dammit, dammit, why the hell do I love _him_!?" The blonde whispered angrily.

Three doors down, completely engrossed in his task, was Near. He had finished the cutting part and was now carefully decorating the project. It wasn't long before he finished, because although he wanted it to be nice, he didn't want it to look _too_ flashy. The faintest of proud smiles briefly crossed his normally indifferent face.

"Excellent…" He approved, then placed it on a hard-back book, picked up a pen, and began painstakingly inscribing his desired message.

In the end, it was the cold that drove Matt in. After all, when one's fingers begin turning blue, it's time to give up the ghost. So it was that the redhead, having run out of places for long-period hiding, slouched back to the room he shared with the very person he had been hiding from.

He hiked up the stairs, trudged down the hall, and pushed open the door to the room, all with the air of one on his way to his own execution.

"MATT!" Something blonde, loud, and solid slammed into him before he had time to so much as blink. Needless to say Matt soon made contact with the floor. If that wasn't enough, it felt like his ribs were being decimated by the crushing force of his best friend's embrace.

"Where the _hell_ were you, you bastard!? I was beginning to think you went and offed yourself somewhere!" Mello shouted approximately two centimeters from his friend's left ear.

"Sorry…" Matt managed, wheezing. Mello seemed to realize he was suffocating the redhead, and hastily leapt off.

"…It's alright… Just don't do that again." Mello said. Matt pushed himself up on his elbows.

"Ok… so… I'm guessing from the lung-ruining hug that you don't hate me… Please correct me if I'm wrong." Matt volunteered. Mello glared at him.

Of course I don't hate you, stupid. I mean…" Here a strange look crossed Mello's face, it took a few minutes before it dawned on Matt that it was guilt. He was amazed; he'd never seen Mello look guilty about anything. Mello generally didn't care enough about anything to feel remorse. "I don't… feel the same way you do…" Matt sighed and looked down.

"I didn't think you would… I hoped though." The gamer pulled himself into a sitting position in the doorway, and then seemed to realize he wasn't in the room yet. Matt stood up; he walked inside and sat on his bed. Mello turned to follow him, closing the door. "So… uh…"

"I do love you Matt. Just… not that way. You're my best friend." Mello explained apologetically. Matt blinked, looking hopeful.

"We're still friends then!?" He enthused. Mello stared exasperatedly and whacked Matt over the head.

"Of course! Idiot! We'll always be friends!"

"Ow..." Matt rubbed his head, but a grin was on his face. "You're the best Mel."

"That's a weird thing to say when someone hits you on the head." Mello pointed out. Matt laughed.

"Well, I'm used to it by now." He shrugged. Mello reached into the pocket of his black jeans, pulling out the bag of candy hearts. He held it out to Matt.

"Here… I wouldn't feel right taking this. Not when I can't be your valentine." Mello muttered. Matt blushed hard and took the bag hurriedly.

"Sorry…"

"Stop apologizing about it! Jeeze, it's not like you can help how you feel." Mello sprawled on the bed and gazed up at the ceiling.

"Right." Matt lay back as well. "So… what else happened while I was busy freezing to death?"

"Oh nothing much. Just had an epiphany and- what!? You were _outside!?_" Mello sat up again. Matt's eyes widened inside his goggles.

"Uh… yeah." The redhead realized the mistake too late.

"You could have frozen to death you moron!" Mello whacked him over the head again.

"Ow… you know killing my brain cells like that won't help with the stupid decisions thing." Matt observed. Mello just glared. "Heh uh… so what was this epiphany you mentioned?" Matt swiftly changed the subject. Mello flopped back on the bed again.

"I was doing some self-analysis. Because… I couldn't figure out why I didn't love you the way you love me… it didn't make sense to me." Mello began.

"Huh? What do you mean?" It was Matt's turn to sit up and stare.

"Well, I mean consider the facts. We've been hanging out pretty much our whole lives, we tell each other everything, and I mean you're intelligent… except when you do dumb stuff like try and freeze yourself to death… and you're good-looking and fun and everything. I couldn't figure it out." Mello elaborated. Matt was blushing pretty hard now. He coughed once or twice.

"Heh… yeah uh, I… can kinda see what you mean…" The redhead looked away embarrassedly. "Maybe it's cuz I'm not a girl?"

"Nah. I like guys too." Mello said. Matt was beginning to think he would develop immunity to shock if it kept being thrown at him like this.

"Um… ok… so then what is it? You said you had an epiphany…"

"Yeah I'm getting there." Mello raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, the last option I thought of was maybe if I loved someone else." With a start, the entire thing suddenly became clear to Matt.

"Oh… Oh! …Wow." Matt slapped a hand across his forehead. "Near!? Wow…

"Yeah that was… almost my reaction. Except I said 'oh shit' instead of wow." Mello replied dully.

"No I mean… how didn't _I_ see it before!? Now that I think about it, it's so obvious." Matt explained. Mello gaped.

"It is!? No way!"

"No totally! This explains why you get so worked up about him all the time and why you talk about him so much!" Matt said.

"I don't _talk_ about Near all the time! I _rant_ about him! And it's not all the time!" Mello argued.

"Rant, talk. Same difference." Matt waved his hand back and forth. "And yeah, it's pretty much all the time." Mello banged his head against the mattress ineffectually.

"Crap… it is obvious." He sighed.

"Great! Now all you have to do is tell him!" Matt smiled supportively.

"What!? No way!" Mello protested.

"Well ok, maybe you could just send him a note." Matt suggested.

"NO!" The reply was instantaneous.

"Anonymously."

"N-… actually… but wait, what would be the point of that!?" Mello asked.

"Simple. See how he reacts to the idea of someone liking him. If he's receptive, it might seem easier to tell him yourself." Matt answered. Mello considered this. "Plus it helps to get your feelings out. Even if they don't know it's you." Mello raised an eyebrow, giving Matt a suspicious look. Matt blanched.

"I never sent you anything like that!" He exclaimed.

"…Well… I suppose you couldn't have, since I don't remember receiving anything from an anonymous person." Mello reasoned.

"Right… uh… anyway, we'd better get started. Otherwise Valentine's Day will be over before we can finish." Matt stated.

"Just what do you have in mind exactly?" Mello inquired, somewhat worriedly.

"Oh… this'll be good." Matt's grin reminded Mello disturbingly of his own.

TBC…

A/N: lol lookit! I wrote an actual _long_ chapter for once! Wooo! Go me! ...Huh wait now that I look it seems so short... but it was five whole pages on MS word... -confused-


	3. Anonymous

A/N: I'm really sorry I took so long to update! Well… longer than I usually take on my MxN stories anyway… -ahem- you see the reason was… Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Which is, for those of you not 'in the know', a fantastic game series for the DS having to do with gay lawyers.

Ok maybe I added in the gay part. But so what? Point being it ate my soul and I'm obsessing over it quite a bit right now. Those of you who are in the know… no 'Objection!' jokes in your reviews please. It's not clever anymore. It's just… not.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I claim to own (at least in any legal sense) DeathNote. Cuz lets be honest if I had mad skillz like that I would so… well, still be here probably. But I don't.

Chapter 3: Anonymous

"And you're sure about this?" Mello questioned skeptically, examining the card Matt had procured with a critical eye.

"Absolutely!" The gamer enthused, smiling encouragingly. Mello glanced at him, a tad disturbed at the sheer brightness his best friend was emanating.

"…I don't think I've ever heard you use that word before…" The blonde observed.

"Oh… well… You have now." A somewhat confused Matt replied. Mello shrugged and glanced back down at the yet-to-be-written valentine.

"I really doubt this will work…" He muttered.

"No, it will!" Matt insisted, shoving a pen into Mello's hand.

"He'll figure it out!" Mello protested, a hint of panic entering his voice. Matt paused for a moment. That did seem like a possibility.

"If we do it right, than how?" The redhead eventually challenged. Mello barely stopped to consider this.

"…He just will! It's kinda his thing. He figures stuff out, against all odds. It's almost like he's psychic…" The chocolate-addict trailed off.

"Now you're just being silly." Matt informed his friend pointedly. "Just write what you feel!" Still, Mello hesitated.

"Look, I just don't think it's a good idea to put stuff down on paper like this! It's basically handing over evidence!" Mello explained.

"So you'd rather just tell him?" Matt offered.

"NO!"

"Then stop complaining already! There's no reason to be nervous, he'll never know it's you! No one in a million years would ever guess _you_ of all people would send a love letter to _anyone_, let alone your archrival." Matt countered. Mello glared sullenly, switching the force of the glare back and forth between his friend and the card.

It was really a very simple card, small and white with little red hearts dotting the front and a bit of gold glitter for some sparkle. The inside was blank, awaiting the note that Mello couldn't bring himself to think was a good idea.

"I don't know Matt…" Mello began, and Matt decided that enough was enough.

"Well that's ok then… I mean if you're that scared-"

"I AM NOT SCARED!" And with that burning denial, Mello hastily began writing in the card. Matt smirked triumphantly. Sure it had been a low, sneaky, manipulative move… but it was for Mello's own good.

"Don't think I don't know exactly what that was about…" Mello accused without looking up, "I'm just letting it slide because… I really don't have any other plan for this."

"Uhh… right." Matt laughed nervously and pulled his goggles over his eyes, just in case.

It is a little known fact that although Matt now loves his goggles and refuses flat out to not wear them, the reason he first acquired aforementioned eyewear is due to Mello. Specifically, Mello's tendency to go straight for the eyes in a fight. Not that Matt ever really fought Mello, or that Mello's vicious revenge/punishment attacks ever went that far but… it was always good to have insurance.

That and they just look really freaking awesome.

"There. Done." Mello set down the pen and picked up the card. "Whatcha think?" He handed the completed valentine over to Matt for examination. Matt stared at it for a good ten minutes longer than it should have taken to read it. Mello began to chafe in the silence.

"Look if it's that bad then just say so and give it back already!" Mello growled. Matt blinked up at him.

"No Mel, it's not that at all. This is… well, I had no idea you could be this sweet." The redhead stated sincerely. Mello blushed embarrassedly.

"Give me that!" The blonde hissed, snatching the card out of his friend's hands. Matt made no objection to the action.

That would be when a rustling sound at the door attracted the two's attention. They both glanced at the closed entrance to the room, and saw a medium-sized white envelope had been slipped under the door. One shared confused look later, and they were at the scene.

"Well… it looks like another valentine…" Matt observed, poking the envelope experimentally.

"But which one of us is it for?" Mello inquired pensively. Matt shrugged.

"Only one way to find out." And with that, the gamer picked up the envelope and smoothly tore open the top. He pulled out the contents, a beautiful heart-shaped card that had obviously been meticulously handmade. Matt flipped it open and scanned the contents.

"Well?" Mello asked expectantly.

"It's for you…" Matt blushed. "Looks like you have your own secret admirer to worry about." Mello seized the card.

"What!? Lemme see!" He carefully scrutinized the valentine and the message therein.

_Dear Mello,_

_I wrote a haiku for you._

_Intensely lovely,_

_Vivaciously explosive,_

_Always in my mind._

_You may not want to be my valentine, but consider me yours._

_-A Secret Admirer_

"They really went all out." Matt sounded impressed. "A poem and everything. Kinda makes my little card seem stupid…"

"No it doesn't." Mello said. "Your card wasn't a secret admirer thing. You were letting me know exactly how you felt, not some anonymous figure. They're totally different, so there's no comparison. Your card wasn't stupid at all." Matt blinked, then sniffed a bit and rubbed at an eye.

"T-thanks Mel… that means a lot." He stammered. Mello scowled.

"Don't you dare get all sobby on me! I swear, if you cry I'm gonna beat the crap out of you." Mello threatened. Matt grinned wryly.

"Whew! I was beginning to think the real Mello had been kidnapped and you were some sort of sensitive clone or something." The redhead ventured a joke. Mello punched him in the arm, but it wasn't quite as vicious as his usual strikes. Mind you, that doesn't mean it didn't hurt. Matt set about checking for broken bones, and Mello turned back to the card he had been writing earlier.

"What are you doing?" Matt asked, once he was certain his arm was perfectly functional, if a little bruised.

"Signing my name." Mello answered, presenting the card to Matt again. Sure enough, _Mello_ was there at the bottom.

"But it's supposed to be-" Matt confusedly began, Mello cut him off.

"Not anymore. If I'm going to do this then… I'm really going to do it. What you did was really brave Matt, and I'm already being shown up by Near on a regular basis. No way am I gonna let you do it too." Mello closed the card again and slipped it into an envelope. "I… guess I'm gonna have to figure out what to do about my secret admirer later…"

"…Well, if you're sure…" Matt sighed. Mello nodded determinedly. "Then let's go."

And with that, the two friends left the room, heading towards what was either the best of endings, or the worst.

TBC…

A/N: Short again… I'm hopeless… Near and Mello interaction in the next chapter for sure! So just hang in there guys!


	4. Finale

A/N: LOL I love how I spent like, three seconds on that haiku and everybody seems to like it a lot. And yet when I spend hours working on poetry everyone I show it to is like desperately trying to hide how lame they think it is. Lmao, I fail so much… it surprises even me. But really, thank you guys so much for the positive feedback! ILU people!

Disclaimer: Me? Own DeathNote? Are you kidding? Try the other way around, lol, it's more accurate.

Chapter 4: Finale

Matt felt somewhat devious at the moment. It hadn't taken a great deal of deductive power to discern the identity of Mello's Secret Admirer, at least not from Matt's standpoint. It was a simple process of elimination, and Mello himself would doubtlessly have figured it out were he not currently so distracted.

It was rather amusing, actually, which was why Matt had kept the information to himself.

Come on though, really. Matt was helping the love of his life confess his affections for someone else. He was entitled to a little harmless fun.

Matt found himself running straight into Mello's back as the aforementioned blonde came to an abrupt stop. Matt stumbled back, then rubbed his nose and made a mental note not to move and get lost in thought at the same time.

"Been walking long?" Mello drawled, grinning playfully. Matt glared.

"Yes, actually. Although I was under the impression that when walking in front of someone, one does not halt unannounced." The red head retorted haughtily. "That hurt… is your head made of metal or something?" Matt rubbed at his sore nose a little more. Mello scrunched his own nose and a hand flew to the back of his head.

"Ew, you better not have gotten any snot on me!" He groaned, and Matt couldn't help but laugh.

"Would serve you right." He snickered, earning himself a punch in the arm. "Ow, dangit Mello this is a day of love! Can't you stop being violent for just one day a year?"

"I thought Christmas was the day I agreed not to be violent." Mello raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Cause I seem to remember you hitting me then too…" Matt blinked.

"I don't think so…" Mello said, shooting his friend a pretend-worried glance, "maybe all those blows to the head really are affecting you." Matt sighed, having no response to this but to roll his eyes exasperatedly. It was impossible to win an argument against Mello. _Impossible_. Mostly because the blonde would simply not give up, no matter what. He'd outlast anyone, except L of course, in a standoff. Even Near simply refused to get into actual debates with Mello; on the grounds that no matter how properly or intelligently he put his case, Mello just didn't back down.

The boy would literally argue with the devil. And probably win through sheer perseverance.

"Anyway, was there any particular reason you decided to stop so suddenly?" Matt asked. Mello gave him an odd look.

"Uh… we're here." Mello pointed at the playroom door, and Matt blinked. Wow, he really had been spacing… "Try to stay with me Matt."

"…Right." Matt nodded. There was a long pause. "So… you going in or what?"

"I am!" Mello huffed defensively. "Just… give me a moment." Matt smiled, pulling his goggles down instinctively.

"Sure, take as long as you need. No rush for me." Matt made a show of pulling out his gameboy. Mello punched him again, and the redhead winced. "Ok, could you at least punch different places? I swear Mel, you're gonna snap my arm one of these days."

"You know you could just stop being a smartass." Mello countered. Matt shrugged.

"Got me there, I suppose." He grinned. Mello rolled his eyes, and stared at the door again. The blonde took a deep breath, seized the handle, and pulled.

Near was in his usual position, a half-finished Lego construction resting in front of him. But there was one immediate and significant difference about this visit.

Near looked up as soon as the door opened.

Usually it took an impressive amount of work to get Near to even acknowledge another person's presence. The pale boy looking up so readily set off warning bells even in Mello's preoccupied mind.

"Mello… I didn't expect you to figure it out this quickly…" The small boy murmured softly, twirling a pale lock of hair. Mello blinked, gawking bewilderedly at Near for a moment. And then realization washed over him.

"You… no way… You mean that was _you!?_" Mello exclaimed. Near looked perplexed.

"I thought you knew… isn't that why you came down?" Near questioned delicately. Matt was aggressively fighting the urge to smile.

"No! I mean… well sort of yes, but I mean… that is… I didn't think…" Mello fumbled.

"Oh… I see…" Near looked away. "Well… I don't usually make this sort of mistake… it is… awkward. I apologize…" Mello blanched.

"Ack! That's not what I meant!" He waved his arms frantically, and Matt lost his internal battle. The redhead burst out laughing, drawing the attention of both the other occupants of the playroom. Swift deductions were made, because really it isn't all that easy to deceive geniuses.

"You _knew!_ Matt you bastard! You _knew_ it was him and _you didn't tell me!_" Mello automatically threw what he was holding at Matt. It bounced off the gamer's chest and landed on the carpet, forgotten by the two best friends.

"Can't blame a guy for having some fun, can you?" Matt raised his arms defensively as Mello approached looking ready to kill. And not his usual angry 'I'll pulverize you!' stance either. This was more of a 'by the time I'm done with you no one will _want_ to know what happened!' sort of glower.

"I really _can_, Matt." Mello hissed, bloodthirstiness apparent in his flashing turquoise eyes. Matt swallowed hard. Ok… so the whole 'don't tell Mello for humorous purposes' idea had definitely ranked extremely high in his list of bad decisions. Hell, considering the circumstances it might even top the time he though it would be funny to braid Mello's hair when the blonde was sleeping.

…Actually on second thought it wasn't quite that bad. Matt still had nightmares about _that_ scenario.

"Um… Mel… Calm down now…" Matt attempted. Mello raised an eyebrow.

"I _am_ calm. I am ridiculously calm. And I am going to calmly _rip out your internal organs and strangle you with them!_" The blonde snarled. Matt paled and started taking slow, cautious steps towards the door. Damn but Mello could be downright **creepy** sometimes.

Just as Matt began to mentally sign his own death warrant; a small, gentle voice broke the murderous tension in the room.

"Mello… you wrote this for me?"

Surprised, Mello and Matt both looked over to see Near. He was curled on the floor with Mello's valentine open in his lap. Mello flushed bright red.

"Uh… yeah." His posture immediately changed, slumping slightly, he stared at his feet and scuffed his boots together lightly.

"It's so… nice." Near whispered.

"…" Mello didn't look up, not sure what to say.

"I really love it." Near continued softly. Mello looked at him.

"You're not kidding?" He asked, his voice unusually gentle. Near smiled slightly and shook his head. Mello walked over, and sat down next to Near, he tentatively reached over, and took the smaller boy's hand in his own.

Matt thought that this would be a good time to discreetly slip away, so he did. Hurriedly. Hopefully this meant Mello forgave him, or at least had forgotten his anger. Yeah, Matt was pretty sure he'd be safe now…

And man, but seeing Mello that freaked out had been completely priceless. The rare and adorable shock on his best friend's face was a memory that Matt would never allow to fade.

Following Matt's stealthy exit was a period of silence surprisingly lacking in awkwardness. It was just quiet, the two boys sitting peacefully side-by-side, each comfortable in their own thoughts. Mello found himself reflecting on how small and very soft Near's hand was. But then Near as a whole was small and soft, so he figured he really shouldn't be surprised.

A feather-light touch on his cheek jolted Mello out of his musings, and he turned his head to see Near smiling gently. Mello stared at him.

"You... kissed me." The blonde stated numbly. Near nodded carefully.

"Isn't that what Valentine's are supposed to do?" He asked innocently. Mello grinned.

"Hey yeah! Except you did it wrong." He said, mock-sternly.

"I... did?" Near's brow creased a little, a rare show of concern.

"Yeah. It's supposed to go like this." Mello swooped in and captured the smaller boy's lips with his own. Mello kissed Near long and lovingly, and when he pulled back he was rewarded with the faintest of blushes and a very cute slightly dizzy expression on Near's face.

"Oh... I see." Near mumbled. Mello laughed.

"Good, good." Mello snickered. Near placed a hand on Mello's shoulder.

"May I try now?"

"Wha-"

Near pressed his lips against Mello's somewhat sloppily, but the blonde wasn't complaining. Mello's arms wrapped themselves around Near's waist, and Near's hand moved from Mello's shoulder to tangle in blonde locks. A minute or so later they parted for air.

"You... you learn fast." Mello panted. Near only smiled, and leaned in against Mello's chest.

"You know Mello..." Near whispered softly. "You've got chocolate on your face."

END.

A/N: LOL I bet you all forgot about that chocolate! Don't lie! You totally did, didn't you!? Well I didn't. -Proud- I bet Near's gonna lick it off... But the story is done now, so it's 'use your imagination' time if you aren't satisfied. Hehe that sneaky Matt... Oh yeah and last but not least... HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVERYBUDDY! My New Year's Resolution is the same as it is every year: To be totally kickass. I think I'm doing O.K. so far. REVIEW NAO PLS KTHX!


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